LATEPASS SUMMER 2021 ISSUE
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449th BOMB GROUP ASSOCIATION
THE PRESIDENT’S REPORT BY RICHARD LAPHAM, VICE PRESIDENT
The Flying Horsemen
449th Bombardment Group (H) B-24 Aircraft Long Range Heavy Bomber WWII European Theater 15th Air Force, 47th Bomb Wing 449th Bombardment Group Bomb Squadrons: 716, 717, 718, 719 January 1944 – April 1945 Grottaglie, Italy Bombardment Targets Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Rumania, Yugoslavia 254 Combat Missions In 475 days of combat, 111 B-24 bombers lost, 199 Axis fighters destroyed Personnel Loss/Interred or Evaded 396 KIA / 63 DED (other deaths) 359 POW 186 Evaded / 9 Interned Distinguished Unit Citations (DUC) Bucharest, Romania, April 4, 1944 Ploiesti, Romania, July 9, 1944
MAXIMUM EFFORT TOUR — ONE OF MANY STOPS ON OUR TOUR Visit with Veteran Donald Beck from Lititz, PA., 716th Webb Crew, Co-Pilot / 23 missions. Seated: Wife Helene and Veteran Donald Beck, Standing: Leon & Judy (Daughter) Lobos, Teresa Andreika, Denise Riegel
On 26 April 1945, 38 B-24’s took off at 0706 hours and headed to a target northeast of Venice, Italy. Mission 254 would be the last mission for the 449th BG ending 18 months of combat from their Italian base in southern Italy, isolated and alone.
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In the last 18 months, some 76 years after the last mission flown by the 449th BG in European Theater of Operation, our nation has been attacked by another enemy, the COVID-19 virus. In these last 18 months, we have lost 54 449th BG Airman; Husbands / Fathers / Grandfathers / Great-grandfathers/Uncles. It has been a tough year of delayed burials, tapping on windows for family visits for a wave, and the pain of not being able to be with sick loved ones due to the COVID isolation protocol. Our condolences go out to the families that suffered during this
449th Flying Horsemen | 449th.com
difficult time. All veterans will be remembered at our Nashville reunion Memorial Service in November. THE MAXIMUM EFFORT TOUR: Our Archives Manager, Denise Riegel, along with her sister Teresa Andreika are on a mission, touring the entire United States to find 449th veterans. After hitting Washington DC, New York and northern east coast in May, the pair were back home in California briefly searching for veterans who have not actively attended reunions. In June they drove from San Diego across Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma to visit seven Veterans. Although many are in assisted living which do not receive visitors, Denise has had some contact with a few veterans and 2nd generation relatives. AND a BIG Thanks to (Continued on Page 2) 1